Pop diva Jolin Tsai's concert has been reported in China! The first stop of her 2026 “PLEASURE” world tour was held at Taipei Dome. Her vocal prowess and stage design wowed the audience and received great acclaim. However, on Chinese social media, controversy kept arising regarding allegations of religious imagery. Many local fans strongly hoped the original version of the concert would be performed locally. Recently, it was announced that the concert passed the review to be held at Beijing's Bird’s Nest. But on the 12th, news broke that it had been reported by members of the public.
Entertainment blogger “Ba Jiang Daily” posted a screenshot, indicating that on January 9, 2026, someone submitted a complaint letter to the relevant departments in China, with the subject line clearly stating, “Report of Jolin Tsai’s 2026 Bird’s Nest PLEASURE Concert.” The source of the letter was “Municipal Cultural Market Law Enforcement Brigade.” The expose claimed that “hundreds of complaint letters have already been released to cultural and tourism bureaus around the country!” The blogger also shared netizen criticisms, including doubts that the concert is “bizarre and creepy, uncomfortable to watch,” “don’t come to Xi’an, too scary,” “don’t go to see it – fans worship the heavens, infinite magical power,” “don’t want Western culture or the Illuminati,” “the Illuminati has come to the dragon vein.”
According to analysis of controversial comments online in China, some netizens interpreted the mechanical snake in the concert as a “sacrificial ritual,” while traditional acrobatic performances were stigmatized as “underworld aesthetics.” Blogger “Siliya” and others even claimed that the performance would “drain the audience’s luck,” and called for a boycott against what they called “Western cultural invasion,” which led many spectators to send hundreds of complaint letters to the cultural and tourism bureaus in Xi’an, Guangxi, and other places.
In fact, the Chinese organizer of Jolin Tsai’s tour, “Yongdao Star Entertainment,” had already issued a stern statement on the 7th, declaring that they would pursue legal responsibility for rumor-mongers. The statement pointed out that the stage design was inspired by the 15th-century Dutch painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” and emphasized that the mechanical snake symbolizes “desire and rebirth.” In addition, the organizers stressed that all designs comply with cultural and tourism department approval standards and contain no religious insinuations.
On the other hand, some netizens and art professionals believe these reports stifle creative freedom, and noted that Jolin Tsai’s stage set is an innovative masterpiece among Chinese-language concerts. However, opponents still said certain elements at the event made them feel “physically uncomfortable” and believed that Western religious imagery should not appear in such performances.